With two days left before NaPoWriMo begins, I’ve been thinking about what goes into writing a prompted poem daily for a month. One key is to use routines wherever you can. You know what you have to do and you get used to going through the steps. Breaking down my strategy, I found that a routine surfaced, and I want to share it.

Eight Steps to a Poem a Day

1. Read the prompt as early as possible. Give it time to marinate. Let your subconscious have first crack at it, while you go through your day.
2. Consciously dismiss all concerns and distractions at writing time. You may even try saying aloud, “Time to write a poem.” Focus on the prompt and how you interpret it.
3. When a prompt takes you to a particular place, that’s where you start writing. If that doesn’t happen, write whatever thoughts come to mind. In this stage of associative writing (I call it that) you’re stirring your personal knowledge from the bottom up, and things can surface that may have been dormant for many years. It happens and it is quite useful.
4. Eventually something will strike you. That’s the theme you wan to give your attention to and develop.
5. Find the sense of what you’re hearing in the words. Write words that are fully expressive of what you’re thinking, in colors, smells, emotions. Write to reflect the rhythm you feel, breaking lines however you like. Just get the words down to flesh out your message.
6. Shape your poem. You’ll read your poems several times before it’s over. First reading: Listen to the flow and revise your line breaks and punctuation to convey the rhythm and breaths you use.
7. Read aloud with affect. Does it sound like you want. Read with different rhythms that play from your shape. Listen for what readers may hear. Make changes as you see fit.
8. Take a break from the poem. If you’re like me you may not have a lot of time for this. But it helps. When you can, move off your poem, to something else. Return later to repeat the process of reading and editing  until your comfortable, (or run out of time), and post.

A Word about Speeding

These steps are from my experiences with daily poem writing on my own, and with prompts in November 2009. The writing goes fast, and so does the editing. In fact you can do it in a day or in an hour as time permits.

My point is that your goal isn’t to perfect your poem. That comes later. What you’re doing is making it work so that 1. your message is understood, and 2. you’re willing to let it go live. Easy, right?

Writing without prompts

Although this is written toward prompted poems, there’s really very little difference between prompted and unprompted poem writing. Really, the only difference is that someone other than you provides the prompts.

Think about it: Unprompted poems are really poems that you prompt for yourself. Rummaging through your thoughts, you pick up things that interest you and get working on it. So, skipping number 1, you can move through the same steps as above—I do.

Be sure to visit the links on the NPM 2010 page for links to participate in National Poetry Month. Links for this event are in the sidebar for easy access.

Let me know your thoughts. What did I miss? What routines do you have to write your poems?

Feeling wordy I sat to blurt it,
just anything that came
singing to me.

I made to type
and it hit hard in my face
there were no sensible words
left in the Guff.

© 2010 Shari Lynne Smothers

Really, it’s not that bad. Rather unexpectedly, I’m in New Orleans until Thursday. My mom decided she wanted to be here for the playoff game against the Vikings. So we’re in our hometown for a few days, before returning home to Houston.

While I’m here, I don’t have regular access to the internet, and I hadn’t really planned to work the whole time anyway. However, while it’s good to spend time offline, I miss it. So I got on for a minute to post a brief note to explain my absence and maybe later I’ll be visiting blogs I regularly enjoy.

Monday morning I’m
three poems in arrears and some
thousands words behind.

©2009 Shari Lynne Smothers

This is a short Haiku to convey my rising anxiety about the projects I’ve taken on.

I can deal with being three poems behind–on  a regular day. But, because I’ve taken on NaNoWriMo and I’m very far behind, my anxiety is reaching  a feverish pitch.

My writing could well be over for NaNoWriMo, except the characters are still alive in my head. I’ve got all these ideas and twists and I let time get away from me. Well, I let family and events get in the way, cardinal November sin.

Ultimately, I’m not out of the game until November 30th. So, with ideas still to record, creativity still flowing, I need to open their creative outlet. I’ll take these last eight days and make the best of it.

National Poetry Month, 2008, 2009 Unofficial
Poem a Day Chapbook Challenge, November 2009 Official
National Novel Writing Month, 2009 Official

Attractions to Group Projects

Officially and unofficially, I’ve participated in these and other writing projects. They can be really intense. And I was thinking about why I elect to participate. It’s rarely just because I get bored.

Challenge

• Pushing myself beyond my suspected limits makes me think I’m not lazy
• It makes me know that I can reach beyond my comfort zone
• It affords me the opportunity to be part of a variety of projects
• It’s exciting both to participate and to complete

Community

• I learn of many new writers that I might not otherwise find
• One common interest brings people together to learn about each other
• Participants share resources that may be new to me
• Participants may actually become a resource
• There’s the chance to share something that others may find useful

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NaNoWriMo 2009 Update

Some people say that they don’t write with an outline. I get that. It was great fun letting my characters meet new characters, and watching them evolve. However, I’m learning what I can and cannot do regarding leaving them their own devices.

In short order I’ve managed to get a good bit behind in my writing. However, I have good reason. I needed to go back and do some mapping. It turns out that these characters with lives and personalities still need some guidance. Especially if I’m going to get them to the point of fulfilling my ideas.

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Poets know that poems are songs, but few of us realize that novels are too.

~ from Walter Mosely’s book, This Year You Write Your Novel

Although I don’t hear it quite clearly, I’m definitely going with the flow of something. There are rhythms to the actions of the characters. Even as I try to steer them, they move those individual cadences. So, I have to let them go in hopes of keeping them believable.

Otherwise they are contrived and unbelievable. Contrived characters in stories can be painful to read. Characters that are made to do things contrary to their nature, just to make something else fit, are really annoying. As my story works itself out, I’m on guard to respect the rhythms.

What do you look for as you write a novel? Are there sticking things in books that put you off?

It’s three days into the writing projects and I’ve learned some useful stuff that will help me to get through. Being flexible is helpful because the effort is so new to me. Tell me what you think.

The 6 characters I met on the first day, must have been waiting in the wings, because they were not on my first list. One of those new characters emerged as a possible transformation subject, which would make her a major player. Needless to say, it was really nice to meet her. She was very round right off the bat so I’ll definitely let her do her thing.

Day 2 revealed more about the plot and the big news and big secret (yet to be revealed to me).

Day 3 is working out to be a transition day. I’ve learned useful things about my writing process. Some of them I won’t be able to use until tomorrow:

1. Writing for hours, chasing my imagination across the page is fun
2. It’s easy to let other important tasks get my attention, (case in point, yesterday’s short progress – only 1,024 words)
3. It helps to de-claw my inner critic by saying I know this will suck but I’m moving forward anyway
4. Writing before work requires early rising that I’m still struggling with (should’ve practiced that in October)
5. I still get distracted by a good Saints football game, (gotta be on guard for that)

I’ve got more work assignments to complete, then get a late lunch before I get to writing. I definitely want to flip this order for tomorrow. When do you do your first writing of the day?

This year I’ve gotten a lot more involved with the activities surrounding NaNoWriMo, and it’s helpful. The opportunities to compete and commiserate are encouraging. It’s a solitary job that doesn’t feel like I’m doing it alone.

I’m excited about my first day’s progress! Having written 3,001 words is a good sign. And although the writing still feels foreign, I’m getting more familiar with the characters. They have traits and quirks that are filling out the frames I thought up for each of them. My new character are interesting, too.

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